Lanzhou (兰州), Gansu - stayed only 12 hrs ! *

Really not much to see in Lanzhou but the city got its fame around China for its Lanzhou noodles (兰州面), a moderately spicy noodle (delicious 拉面) soup with beef . We went to see the Huang river (黄江 also called 母亲江- Mother River, because of the colour), and walked along its side. There are interesting, massive water mills installed on a section of its bank, in memory of the general who installed and improved the waterwheel principle in the city, Duan Xu. The city is more of a hub between Southern and Northern/Western provinces.

During summer, train tickets to go across Gansu and Xinjiang seem incredibly hard to get and we got ours from Lanzhou to Dunhuang thanks to some great local guanxi who got us hard beds in the train staff car. Train ticket penury is due to reselling –see later entries for more comments on that and what happened to us in Urumqi - or/and major tourism in these areas. There is an option for a bus trip but it takes 26 hrs !

Train Lanzhou-Dunhuang (overnight, 1 per day): 200 RMB ~12 hrs

 

Lanzhou noodles 兰州面！                          The waterwheels beside the river

   Journey to the West: they dropped by Lanzhou !